LeBron James’ I Promise School will offer transitional housing program starting in 2020

Share this:

LeBron James walks past the crowd before speaking at the opening ceremony for the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, Monday, July 30, 2018. The I Promise School is supported by the The LeBron James Family Foundation and is run by the Akron Public Schools. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Had he ever been displaced by a natural disaster before, a reporter asked. Perhaps a hurricane in Miami? A storm in Cleveland? Anything comparable?

Not that he could remember, James said. But as a child, he moved a lot.

“It wasn’t because of natural disasters; it was our situation,” he said. “Back when I was growing up, I wouldn’t – me or my mother wouldn’t – have had the means to walk anywhere and be able to get lodging. Just had to figure it out.”

On Monday morning, the LeBron James Family Foundation announced the I Promise Village, a transitional housing program in Akron, Ohio, for the families who have children enrolled in the already operational I Promise School. The program’s aim is to provide shelter for those families who are facing homelessness, domestic violence or other issues that affect their housing security.

“You can have all the support in the world while you’re at school or while you’re at basketball or while you’re playing sports or doing anything,” he said after Monday’s practice. “But if you go home and it’s not stable, you don’t have any stability there, you’re gonna resort back to the negative things or the bad habits that you might have. Sometimes it’s not even the kids’ fault of why the situations are the way they are.”

Partnering with Graduate Hotels, the foundation will refit an apartment building near the school into temporary housing as families’ needs arise. The building currently has units for 22 families, but that number could change as planners design communal spaces in the building.

James said he met Graduate Hotels CEO Ben Weprin in Cabo, Mexico, where he now has a home. The two got to talking about the I Promise School, which has been lauded for its early results for at-risk children in the Akron School District. Those initial discussions led the company into working with the foundation on the project, which is expected to be fully operational by July 2020.

“For (Weprin) to be able to bring that to our families and our kids at the IPS, to continue to expand what we want to do,” James said, “it’s just something that you can’t even really even – you never even dream about it until it becomes like it is now.”

The foundation has expanded its outreach in the last year as they’ve become more familiar with the on-the-ground issues IPS families face.

“We’re seeing families struggling every day with very real and oftentimes unexpected issues that turn their worlds upside down,” LJFF executive director Michele Campbell said in a statement. “This will allow the family time and opportunities to grow while not worrying if they’ll have a roof over their head.”

Kyle Goon covers the Lakers for the Southern California News Group. Before taking his talents to Los Angeles, he worked for The Salt Lake Tribune for eight years, covering everything from high school rodeo to the Utah Jazz. Gregg Popovich once baptized him by fire in a media scrum.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.